Father's Day
by psalm57
Summary: After Karla's death Peter and Roger found out that niether of them was Reese's father. So then who is. A patient in the ER might reveal the answer.
1. Default Chapter

Ok, I've been wanting to start this story for awhile, so I hope you all like it. I could not remember the name of Peter's sister, so if you know, please let me know in a review. Also, if you know if I'm spelling his son's name wrong, please let me know. Hope you enjoy, and please review.

**Chapter 1**

"Happy Fathers' Day!" Chuny exclaimed as Peter entered the Er. The receptionists had decorated the front counter in holiday decorum.

"Um, thanks Chuny," Peter responded politely. He had never been a big celebrater of such holidays. This year had been especially difficult to stomach. It was the first Fathers's Day since he had learned that he was not Reese's biological father. He knew that it meant nothing, he still loved Reese more than anything and nothing could ever change that, but regardless, it changed things.

"Are you and Reese doing anything together tonight?"

"No, I work late. His aunt helped him pick out a present though. And he drew me a picture. That's all I need."

"Oh, how sweet. They're great at that age."

"Yeah, they are."

Peter walked down the hall to the lounge and quickly located his locker. After changing, he approached the counter for a mug of coffee. His mind wandered back to that morning at his apartment. His sister had arrived early to watch reese for the day.

(flashback)

"Happy Fathers' Day." She bellowed as she entered the apartment. She placed a gift bag on the floor as she bent down and began to sign to Reese. "do you want to give your Daddy his gift?" Reese smiled as he lifted the blue giftbag from the ground attempting to hold it up for his dad. Peter smiled and took the sack from Reese's hands.

"Thank you, Buddy." Peter signed to his son as he placed the new picture frame that contained a picture of reese and himself on the mantle. "I love it." He lifted Reese from the floor and looked into his eyes. As he peered into his big brown eyes, he couldn't help but think who's eyes those were. They weren't his. Who was reese's real father? He pulled away after a moment. It was too much to bare. He gently placed his son down on the carpet.

"Um, I work until 7. I'll pick him at your house."

"Yeah, that's fine. But Peter, Roger wanted to see him today. Would that be ok?"

Peter sighed heavily. He still became frustrated everytime Roger requested to see Reese. But could he blame him? He was as much a father to Reese as he was. Neither of them was his real father.

"Sure, just please be done by 7. I'll pick him up then. I have to go. Thanks for everything. Bye Reese." He kissed his son on the head and exited his apartment.

(end of flashback)

Peter poured the remaining contents from his mug and set it in the sink. He exited the lounge and grabbed a clipboard from the front desk. "10 year old boy with arm fracture." He read allowed as he entered curtain 2. "What happened Mr. Jones?"

A middle aged man sat beside the bed in a chair. "Oh, well, Daniel here was trying to cook breakfast for me for Fathers Day, but fell when he was trying to get the pancake batter from the top shelf. He's a great son."

"Sounds like it, Peter replied as he looked down at his patient. As he looked into the young boy's eyes, he was startled at the similarity between the father and son. His son had inherited all of his father's physical attributes.

"Well, let's check that arm out. It doesn't look too bad. But you will have to have a cast for six weeks."

"Awesome!" The boy exclaimed. "All the boys at school will be jealous. Dad, will you sign my cast?"

"Of course Sport!"

Peter exited the room to ask one of the nurses to put the cast on. Why didn't Reese look just like him? Why wasn't he Reese's real father? Karla and he had had a good relationship for awhile. They could have had a son. But they hadn't. Karla had had someone else's son. Where was the man who had Reese's eyes?

He was snapped back to reality by Chuny, "Peter, we need you. We have a MVA. A drunk driver hit a woman and her two kids." Peter hurried after Chuny into trauma 1.

He approached the gurney of the man who had hit the woman. He was a tall, black man. "Hey, can we get some constraints!" Peter bellowed, trying to hold the man down. The man was greatly intoxicated.

"Hey, isn't this the hospital that Karla's husband worked in?" The man mumbled as drool fell down his chin.

"What sir?" one of the nurses questioned. "Sir, you need to keep still!"

"Yeah, I slept with her at her house when he was at work. Dumb bastard never found out, but I think he worked here." The man began to chuckle drunkenly.

Peter had begun to shake. Karla? A doctor from the ER? He gazed into the man's eyes. "Chuny, I'm going to help Mark with the woman." He said quickly as he dashed away from the man.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the next chapter. Can someone let me know where exactly Mark is in his medical condition and relationship with Elizabeth about a year after Karla's death? I know Peter shouldn't be working there, but I changed it to make the story work obviously. Please give me reviews.**

**Chapter 2**

"Peter, are you alright." Peter had begun to make his way down the ER hall toward the lounge after finishing with the MVA patients. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and turned to face the owner of the hand. He peered into Elizabeth's eyes.

"Yes, I'm fine." He replied abruptly.

"Well, you don't sound fine, and what happened in there?" she shot back with her stubborn British accent. Peter always loved her overconfidence, but not today. He just wanted to get as far from everyone he knew as possible.

I'm fine. Please Elizabeth, just leave me alone."

"Peter," her voice took on a more sensitive tone as she laid her small hand across his back. "What happened in there? You looked as if you saw a bloody ghost."

Peter sighed heavily and covered his face with his hands. "Come into the lounge and I'll explain everything."

She followed him in the lounge and over to the counter. Peter slowly poured himself a mug of coffee and leaned against the counter. Elizabeth watched him as he slowly sipped the bitter liquid. Peter always drank his coffee black, no matter how bitter.

"After Karla's death last year, Roger and I both learned that neither of us were Reese's biological father."

"Yes, I remember that. That must have been very difficult for the both of you."

"Yeah," he responded to her comment. "Well, I've always wondered who the real father was. Who did Karla sleep with? What is a long running affaire or a one time fling? Were there other guys she had flings with? It's hard to have a relationship with a person and then learn that the whole thing might have been a complete lie."

"I can't even imagine." Elizabeth added sympathetically.

"Today really got me thinking. Jackie helped Reese pick out a present for Fathers' Day for me. I picked him up in looked into his big brown eyes and that's when it hit me. Were those my eyes? Whose eyes were they? How could I be celebrating Fathers' Day if I wasn't even his real father?"

"Peter, just because you didn't give him twenty-three chromosomes does not mean you're not his father. You raised him. You've always loved him more than anything. You're one of the best fathers I know."

"Thank you, Elizabeth, but after learning that the child you raised isn't really yours, suddenly everything changes. You look at everything in a completely different light."

"Well, don't. He's still your son and you love him."

I know and that's what I've been trying to tell myself. But I guess it's a guy thing. He's not mine."

"Yes he is. He is Reese Benton, one of the luckiest boys I know because he has an amazing father."

"Thanks, that means a lot. But I haven't told you the next part, the reason I freaked out in the trauma room. The drunk man who hit the woman and her children, he was pretty intoxicated and started mumbling things. He said something about how he had slept with the wife of one of the doctors here at County. That he had slept with her in their bed when he was here at the hospital. And then I looked into his eyes. Those were Reese's eyes." Peter gulped out the last sentence as tears began to pour down his cheeks. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his shaking body, trying to soothe him.

"Oh Peter, I'm so, so sorry. I'm so sorry. But we don't know for sure if he's telling the truth. The man had a lot of alcohol in his system."

"Elizabeth you've worked around drunks as much as I have. They have the tendency to blurt out everything they're hiding while under the influence."

"True, but also, there are plenty of other male doctors at County. It could be so many others."

"Elizabeth, I'm one of the only black doctors at County. Now I know that doesn't matter much, but you know it can be a contributing factor. And again, you had to of seen his eyes. I swear, I've never seen anyone else with those eyes, except for my son."

"Oh Peter. I'm just so sorry. But let's not jump to conclusion. Maybe you can talk to the guy, maybe get a DNA test."

"How, you know he'll deny it once he's sober, and I can't do a DNA test without his approval. And what will knowing the truth do for me. I still won't be Reese's father."

"Oh Peter. I just wish there was something I could do. But we'll work this out. We'll figure something out."

"Thank you, Elizabeth. You don't know how much I appreciate this."


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, here is the next chapter. I was kind of disappointed to see that not to many people have read this fic, but I'm going to keep going because I really liked the idea. Again, this is definitely an AU, but feel free to correct me if anything just does not seem to fit with the real story. Please read and review.

Chapter 3

Peter walked up the several flights of stairs leading up to his apartment. The day's events had been more than he had bargained for and he was looking forward to putting up his feet. But he also found himself nervous to see his own son. The same sweet toddler he lived his life for, who he breathed for was now causing him incomprehensible grief. He neared his door and pulled his keys from his coat pocket. He fumbled in the cold to find the appropriate key and unlocked the door. Pushing the door ajar, he stepped into his warm small apartment. He threw his belongings down onto an adjacent sofa and made his way to the back room to find Jackie and Reese. He followed the sound of his sister's voice to Reese's bedroom and entered the room to see Reese laughing as Jackie danced around the small room. Peter took a step back as Reese looked up in his father's direction. Those were the eyes that had looked at him in the ER that day. The eyes he knew to be his sons.

"Peter, you're home. Are you ok? You look like you saw a ghost." Peter quickly regained his composure. He planned on telling Jackie about what had happened but had ruled against it at this time.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired. The hospital was busy today. And how is my big guy?" Peter signed as he walked over to pick Reese up from the floor."

Reese smiled as he looked up into his father's eyes. He signed daddy, making Peter smile.

"Yes, I am his father. I don't care what that man said. I am his father." Peter told himself. But again, he looked into Reese's big brown eyes. The frown that had masked Peter's face began to creep back. He was not going to be able to convince himself that the man was wrong. The eyes said it all.

"Peter, what is wrong? And don't say nothing, because that look on your face says otherwise."

Peter fought himself to respond. He really had to tell her but how and when. It was too soon. But when would be the right time? He finally decided that it was now or never. "Ok, there is something, but let me put Reese down for bed and then I'll explain everything.

"Ok, I'll go make us a pot of coffee."

Jackie left the room and Peter looked back into Reese's eyes. "Ok Buddy, let's get you in bed. He walked over to the dresser and extracted Reese's pajamas and helped his son to get changed. As he laid him down and pulled the covers up, he took one last look. "I love you, son." He whispered as he signed to his son.

"I love you too," Reese signed back.

Peter shut the door behind him, leaving a small crack in order to hear Reese if there might be any problems. He then walked into his kitchen where he could smell the coffee brewing. He pulled up a stool and sat at his small bar.

"So mind telling me what's going on?" Jackie inquired, pulling up a stool next to her brother.

Peter held his head in both hands as he reflected on the day's events. "I had an interesting patient in the ER today. He was a drunk driver who hit a woman and her children."

"Oh my gosh, they need to throw all those people in jail."

"Yeah, well this patient was extremely intoxicated and wasn't afraid to say anything."

"What, did he tell you his life secrets?" Jackie giggled to herself but after seeing the look on Peter's face she stopped. "Peter?"

"He told me that he had had an affaire with the wife of one of the doctor's at County several years back. And he said her name was Karla."

"Oh my goodness, well it could all be coincidence." She offered optimistically.

"He was black and had Reese's eyes. I know I'm not Reese's real father and…"

"Are you sure?"

I can never be positive without a DNA test, but Jackie if you saw his eyes. It is just like looking into Reese's eyes."

There was a long pause of silence. Peter was attempting to keep himself from crying. He had done enough of that for one day. And Jackie was trying to find the right words to console her brother. It did sound pretty convincing.

At a loss for words she blurted out the first thing on her mind, "So what are you going to do? I'm sorry, that sounded so rude."

"No, I'm trying to figure that out. I don't know if I should act on it or just forget it."

Jackie was quiet for a moment debating whether to say what she was thinking or not. Finally, she decided to act upon it and responded, "I know you don't want to hear this, but you should tell Roger about this and both of you should figure out what you're going to do about it."

Peter was surprised at his own response, "Yeah, you're right. But Jackie, I'm going to need help through this." The tears he had tried so hard to keep in began to fall. "I don't know if I can do this."

"We'll work through this together." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around her brother.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was decided, he would meet with Roger and explain the whole situation. He would see what Roger thought, and go from there. For once he was thankful to have Roger as a part of Reese's life. He was glad that he was not the only one who would be a part of making such a difficult and life changing decision. And further, he didn't even know what the two men would do if they decided to act. What could they do?

The next day Peter woke early. He didn't work until he evening shift, he had been coaxed into it by Kerry, but he was too anxious to remain in bed. He showered quickly and made himself a pot of coffee. Peering up at the clock, he checked the time. It was 8:30 in the morning. He knew Roger would already be at his office working, so he pulled the phone from the receiver and began to dial his work number.

Breathing in deeply, he listened to the phone ring. He made it a priority to talk to Roger as little as possible, so such a phone call was significantly awkward. The only reason the two ever talked pertained to visit times, so Jackie generally acted as the middle man to prevent any hostility. The two men knew in their hearts that they had no reason to hate each other, and the problem was due to the actions of the deceased, but just as anything else, they were human and needed to blame someone, and who better than each other?

"Hello?"

"Peter was roused from his thoughts as he heard the voice on the other line.

"Hello, um Roger?"

"Speaking"

"Um, this is Peter, Peter Benton"

"OH, um, hello Peter. Is everything ok? I'm sorry about yesterday, I know Father's Day is important to you, but he was there when you got home and…"

"Oh, no, I'm not calling about that. I mean, that was fine."

"Oh, o, then what did you need to talk to me about?" the other man relaxed.

"Um, gosh, I don't even know how to begin. Could we maybe get lunch? I need to talk to you about something, but it's not really something you say over a phone call."

"Um, sure, um, I take my lunch break around 12:30."

"Ok, I'll meet you at Antonios. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you at 12:30 at Antonios, Peter."

"Ok, thanks"

Peter pushed the off button on his phone and then began to dial his sister's number. "HI, Jackie? I know you weren't supposed to take Reese til tonight, and I know you've had him a lot this week, but do you think you could take him at around noon today? I'm having lunch with Roger. I'm going to tell him everything. Ok, thanks. See you then."

At around 11:30, Peter prepared his son to go to his aunt's house. He tried to remain calm and have a conversation with his son, but he found it increasingly difficult to do. Finally at noon, his sister came to retrieve her nephew.

"So, you're going to tell him about yesterday?" she questioned her brother.

"Yep, we'll see what happens."

"Good luck, Peter."

"Thanks"

"But hey, I'm proud of you for wanting to talk to him. I think it's good. You both care about Reese. You shouldn't keep anything from him."

"I know, but don't start praising me yet. I haven't done it yet, and you suggested it first."

"But still, when have you ever listened to me before."

"True" he chuckled, "Thanks again for taking Reese early."

"No problem"

After she had left with Reese, Peter grabbed his jacket and wallet and made his way down to the parking lot. Putting the key into the ignition, he drove down to the popular, family-owned restaurant. Arriving early, he asked for a table for two and waited patiently for his acquaintance to arrive. As he drummed his fingers impatiently on the checkered table cloth, he planned exactly how to tell Roger what had happened. But how do you tell a man something like that? "Oh yea, you know how we don't know who Reese's real father is? Well, this drunk jerk came into my hospital yesterday and told me that he slept with Karla at my house while I was at work." This was going to be more difficult than he could imagine.

"Just then he saw Roger enter the restaurant. Waving his hand, he flagged Roger over to his table.

"How have you been, Peter?" Roger asked politely as he seated himself across the table from Peter.

"I've been ok. How about yourself?"

"Not too bad. But I must say, after your call this morning, I have been a little curious."

"I know. I'm sorry about that, but like I said, I just had to see you in person."

"Don't apologize. So what's up?"

"Gosh, where to begin." But Peter did not to go any further. The two men were interrupted by the waitress.

"Would you two like anything to drink?"

"Ice tea, please." Roger put in.

"Um, coffee, black, thanks." Peter ordered.

"So…" Peter turned back to Roger after the waitress left.

"Ok, so um, it's about Reese."

"Reese?" Roger questioned hesitantly. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes, yes, oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. He's perfect. Um, well, yesterday was Father's Day, and it got me thinking. Neither of us is Reese's real father. And no matter how much I try to shake it, I can't seem to forget it."

"I can only imagine how hard that must have been for you, Peter. To find out that your son was not your real son."

"Yeah," Peter paused for a second and inhaled. "Well, yesterday a man came into the ER who shook me up a little."

"What, was he Reese's father or something?" Roger put in jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. But when he looked at Peter's face, he suddenly became silent. "Peter?" he inquired. "Was he…"

"I don't know for sure, but there were several things that make me think."

"I don't understand. Why do you think he is his father?"

"He was a drunk driver who hit a woman and her kids. When he came in, he was still intoxicated. He was rambling. He said that he'd once slept with the wife of a doctor at County while the doctor was at work. That the woman's name was Karla. He said that the man never knew. And the man was black, and, and he had Reese's eyes." Peter let out all in one breath.

"Oh my gosh," was all Roger managed to get out. He looked forward into space. He seemed to be processing the whole thing in his mind. "Oh my gosh."

Peter waited patiently for a response. He knew it had almost made him vomit hearing what the man had said yesterday. He couldn't blame Roger for taking a moment to sort it all out in his head.

Are you sure?" was all he managed to say.

"Like I said, I can't be one-hundred percent sure without a DNA test, but if you could have seen his eyes."

"Can we take a DNA test?" Roger jumped in, suddenly realizing that such a test would answer all of their questions.

"Not without his permission, and do you seriously think he'll agree if we explain why?"

"But he told you. He seemed to be so proud of it then, so…"

"Roger, he was drunk. People tend to bare it all when they're intoxicated. After a few hours to sober up, he'll deny the whole thing. He probably won't even remember telling me."

"We have to do something."

"I know. That's why I came here today. I thought maybe you could add your two cents. Tell me what you think we might do?"

"I don't even know if it's true?" Roger shot back.

"I swear, if you just see his eyes."

"Can I?"

"Can you what?"

"Can I see him?"

Peter paused for a moment. Maybe Roger should see the man for himself? "Ok, he should still be there. He had a few broken bones, and a concussion, so he wouldn't be sent home yet. Sure, if you want to come to work with me, I'll show him to you."

"Ok, and then we'll go from there."

A/N:

Sorry for the long wait, but I received so few reviews, so I worked on some of my other fics I needed to update first. So, please, please, please review. Oh, and if anyone knows Roger's actual occupation, could you please let me know in a review?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The two had driven to the hospital separately. The pulled into they parking garage and met each other on the sidewalk.

"Are you ready?" Peter asked Roger. He was feeling nervous himself. He wasn't quite sure why. He had already seen the man.

"I suppose." Roger retorted.

They entered the hospital in silence.

"Hey Peter. I thought you were off today?" Jerry asked as the two men passed the front desk.

"I'm not on today. I'm here on personal business." He answered.

"Personal business…?" Jerry replied but Peter continued walking.

" He's on the third floor." Peter explained as they entered the elevator. The road up, still in silence, and exited on floor three.

"Ok, this is his room." Peter had stopped in front of room 632. "Are you ready for this?"

"I guess so," Roger exhaled heavily. Peter pointed to the glass window. The curtain was pulled back to reveal the patient. He was occupied by the television and did not notice the two men outside his window.

Roger was silent for several minutes. He could tell Roger was taking it all in. A blank look occupied his face.

"He looks just like Reese," Roger managed to whisper.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that. I thought maybe I was just ultra-sensative on Father's Day and was seeing things."

Roger shook his head in disbelief. "Where do you think Karla met him?" he asked.

"I don't even want to know. I know she and I had a rocky marriage, but I never thought she'd do something like this."

"I have to agree with you on that one. I guess you never really know a person."

"The only way we'll know is if we get a DNA sample." Roger said.

"But we can't do that without his permission."

"What if we happen to find something with his DNA on it. You know, the garbage is fair game." Roger explained.

"True, and lunch should be coming just about now." Peter looked down at his watch.

"I like your thinking." Roger said.

The two men left the third floor and exited the hospital. "Well, we have some time to kill while he eats."

The two men began to walk down the busy Chicago street.

"Peter?"

"Yeah," Peter looked at Roger.

"Why do you hate me so much, I mean, I know I sound dumb asking but…"

"I don't hate you Roger. I guess it's just the way we were acquainted. Under any other circumstances things between us would have been different, but the whole Karla thing, and then the court thing, and so on, it just wasn't a great start to a friendship."

"Yeah, I guess that's very true."

"Maybe we can start over," Peter said. "These last few days have made me think a lot. We're not each other's enemy."

"I like the sound of that." Roger said.

"Besides, we both love "Reese and want to see him grow up. We still have many more years before he's out of the house."

"This is true. So what do you say, can we start over and be friends. Poor Jackie can't be the middle man for the rest of our lives."

"Yeah, and I think I have her baby sit too much these days."

"Any time you need help, I'm there."

"Thanks,"

The two men continued to talk and laugh as they walked around the city. They talked more than they had ever in the several years they had known each other.

"Well, it's been about an hour. Ready to go back?" Peter asked.

"Sounds good."

The two entered the hospital and road the elevator back up to floor three.

"How are we going to get his trash?" Roger asked.

"Good question," Peter thought to himself. Peter looked over the medical board near the nurses' station.

"He's scheduled for an x-ray in fifteen minutes. We'll grab it then."

The men paced anxiously for the next fifteen minutes in the small waiting room. The men nearly jumped as they spotted one of the nurses wheeling him toward the elevator.

Just as the doors closed, the men sprinted down the hall and into the room. "Here's a used cup?" Roger said as he extracted it from the waste basket."

"Perfect, let's get this down to the lab."


End file.
